CVRF Creates More Job Opportunities for Residents

Published: March 5, 2014

Unemployment and Poverty Rates Among The Highest In The Nation

ANCHORAGE, AK – Coastal Villages Region Fund (CVRF) recently promoted its on-call Community Service Representatives (CSR) to part-time employees, guaranteeing at least 20 hours of work a week. These part-time positions are adding at least $415,000 in salaries in CVRF’s member villages each year.

CVRF now has 22 full-time and 23 part-time CSRs supervised by four Community Service Managers (CSM) to provide direct services and represent CVRF locally. The CSRs also provide administrative support for the 17 full-time Mechanic/Welders (M/W) and the two Regional M/W Supervisors.

“I am very happy and thankful to be working part-time for CVRF,” said Priscilla John, CVRF CSR from Oscarville. “People are struggling out here trying to find jobs throughout the year and some even lose their homes because they cannot pay their bills. CVRF is the best company to work for because they are fighting for our rights, jobs and communities.”

“This change surprised me and I am very thankful for this opportunity to work part-time,” said Ashley Brankovic, CVRF CSR from Mekoryuk. “The money I earn will be used to help my family with bills since I am the only one employed out of a family of four. I also plan on saving money for when I attend college sometime in the near future.”

“These positions add more stability to our operations by providing more coverage for the many services offered by Coastal Villages,” said CVRF Community Services Manager Dayna Nash of Chevak. “We serve the largest population of people and our residents rely heavily on Coastal Villages’ services. Once the CDQ allocations are fixed, we will be able to provide even more jobs and more benefits for our residents.”

In a region faced with the highest unemployment and poverty rates in the nation and a high cost of living, CVRF is providing meaningful year-round and seasonal jobs in numbers second only to the Government -- according to the State of Alaska’s Economic Trends October 2013 edition. The report also claims that, outside government, commercial fishing is the only industry that provides income from outside the region.

“CVRF provides jobs for more than 1,100 people who earn more than $30 million in wages each year,” said CVRF Executive Director Morgen Crow. “The villages we serve are growing in population, the economic need of our region is great, and adding these jobs is another step in the right direction. CVRF is pleased to announce more in-region benefits.”

“The State of Alaska knows that the region we serve in the Y-K Delta has the highest need for jobs and economic development,” said CVRF President Paul Tulik. “Fair allocations for our residents would result in MORE raw materials to earn MORE money in the Bering Sea to provide MORE projects and programs in our region. The CDQ program was designed to serve people, not groups. The U.S. Congress can and should do more for our region by just fixing the CDQ allocations.”

CVRF is a 501(c)(4) Alaska non-profit corporation whose 20 member villages are along the west coast of Alaska from Scammon Bay to Platinum. CVRF is believed to be the largest Alaskan-owned seafood company in history and is governed by a 20-member Board of Directors elected by the residents of its 20 member communities. CVRF is dedicated to providing economic development in its 20 member communities by creating sensible, tangible and long-term opportunities that generate Hope for residents who want to Fish and Work. CVRF is the largest jobs provider in its member villages and is the first CDQ group to own and control the vessels that harvest its CDQ allocations. For more information, visit www.coastalvillages.org or contact Florence Kargi at 907-278-5151. Please visit CVRF’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CoastalVillagesRegionFund and Coastal’s Twitter page at www.twitter.com/CoastalVillages